Life In 50 Moments
by wateriswide
Summary: For LJ's 50ficlets community. 50 prompts. Dasey.
1. 21 TwoFaced

**Update 10/9/08: **I've uploaded chapters 10 through 14.

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.

Author's Note: For my claim at the LJ community, 50ficlets.

**#21 – Two-faced**

"There is _no way_ I'm going," Derek's voice filtered in from the living room. Casey rolled her eyes from her place in the kitchen as she recognized yet another (yet equally lame) fight between Derek and Sally.

"De-rek," Sally said, her voice whiny. Casey smirked when she realized that: A), Sally doesn't know that she should be begging, not complaining, at this point, and B), Casey has a _much_ more effective whine. "It's my cousin's wedding. You can't possibly expect me to go solo on this!"

"I don't do weddings, and I've never even _met_ Lisa."

"_Linda_, Derek. How can you say you 'don't do weddings'?"

"Well, at the last one I went to, I got Casey as a step-sister. You might understand why I've been turned off by the whole thing." Casey rolled her eyes again.

"Derek," Sally said, her voice suddenly turning deadly serious. "This is important to me. So you're going."

Casey heard the ruffle of fabric as Derek presumably crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I'm not. This is stupid."

There was a pause before Sally said, "You know what's stupid? Me thinking that you are, in any way, a good boyfriend. You're selfish and arrogant and I am _not_ putting up with you anymore. Bye, Derek."

The door slammed. Derek came into the kitchen, got a soda, and sat down next to Casey. "Thank God that's finally over," he said.

Casey wasn't surprised. They had been dating for three months and Sally still didn't get him at all. Not that it was all her fault – if he had wanted to, Derek would've given her something more to get. But he hadn't, and Sally never got to see that other side of Derek, the side that did nice, unasked for, and sometimes downright adorable things for no reason. But not many people saw it – Marti, Edwin, Lizzie, and if Casey had bothered to notice, her. Her most of all.


	2. 23 Aches and Pains

**#23 – Aches and Pains**

"God, Derek! Stop being the biggest baby alive and just _hold still_!"

"I am _not_ being a baby!" Derek yelled, but for the sake of his manhood, he stopped moving.

Casey paused before commenting, "You look like you got run over by a car."

"Casey, it was a little fight. It wasn't that bad."

"Charging Max out of nowhere isn't a little fight. It's sheer stupidity. I guess I should've seen it coming from you."

"You should really work on your bedside manner. Plus, all that stress is giving you wrinkle lines."

Her hands flew up to her face. "What?!"

He laughed. "I can't believe you fell for that."

She sighed, annoyed, then went back to cleaning a nasty cut under his eye. He stared at her until she said, "Why'd you fight him, anyway? He wasn't doing anything wrong."

Derek snorted. "It's just something about that guy. I see his face and I just wanna punch it. You and your 'womanly maternal instincts' wouldn't understand."

"Derek, Max and I started dating again two weeks ago. You know that. Leave him alone, OK?"

He rolled his eyes. "Fighting your boyfriend's battles, Case? I always knew he was a total wuss."

"Says the guy who's letting me put his face back together."

If Derek Venturi were the type of guy to say thanks, this would've been where he said it. He settled for sighing.

Casey grabbed an ice pack, and he studied his shoes silently. "Tell me where it hurts," she said.

"Just my left eye," he admitted, and she took his hand to guide the ice pack to the giant bruise forming. As she let go, Derek thought about telling her about the constant gnawing pain in his gut that only got worse when Max was around, but he figured that's not what she meant.


	3. 37 Feeling Good

**#37 – Feeling Good**

Casey always fell asleep with a teddy bear. It was the one she'd had since the day she was born. Her arms fit perfectly around it. Once she got older (particularly after moving into the Venturi house), she tended to twist and turn subconsciously in her sleep, and in the morning, teddy was on the ground more often than not. Derek teased her mercilessly about her childhood habit, of course, until she walked in on him sleeping, clutching a raggedy old blanket that Edwin told her was a childhood gift. He stopped teasing her after that.

When Casey started sneaking into Derek's room late at night to fool around, she fell asleep next to him, clutching his arm or chest. She never thought she'd have a good replacement for her teddy, especially one that wasn't all light and fluffy, but she found that his breathing could lull her to sleep faster than any of her easy-listening folk CDs and soon, she couldn't fall asleep easily without the feeling of his hard chest underneath her.

And she figured they must both twist and turn in their sleep, because in the morning, they're often tangled together even more tightly than when they fell asleep.

It felt nice, she reflected. Really nice.


	4. 18 Hurt Me

**#18 – Hurt Me**

Casey sat on the edge of the sofa closest to the recliner, where Derek was sitting, staring mindlessly at the TV. They sat in silence for a few moments, watching some infomercial for measuring spoons, and Casey took the opportunity to steal the remote out of his hands, which were surprisingly limp, and changed the channel to a historical documentary. Derek didn't move, didn't even blink.

"What, no argument?" she asked. "No teasing your keener stepsister for watching an educational program?" He didn't even twitch. "Silent treatment? Fine, see if I care."

Every so often, she glanced over at him. His expression was unchanged and the only movement she saw was an occasional blink. For ten minutes, she put up with his general creepiness before she threw the remote on his lap and got up to leave.

"Fine, you win," she said. "You've thoroughly creeped me out."

That night at dinner, the dinner was set for two (the rest of the family being out and about). Casey brought in the food she had warmed up and placed it on the table between her and Derek, who was still staring straight ahead silently.

"This again?" Casey complained. "You're really freaking me out, Derek. Although that's probably your whole plan. "At his stoic response, Casey threw a spoonful of mashed potatoes at him. They landed right on his forehead and he didn't even flinch.

"Derek, come on," Casey said, her voice turning worried. "This isn't funny. Cut it out." She moved to his side of the table and started shaking him. "Derek. Derek! Come on, just...do something!" Her voice was frantic as she desperately tried to evoke a response from his lifeless-like body. "Tease me, push me, I don't care, Derek, just say something!

"Come on, Derek, _hurt me_!"

Casey's eyes flew open and she sat gasping in her bed. She sat there, frozen, eyes wide, until a few seconds later when her door flew open.

"Case--"

She snapped her head to see Derek balancing himself on her door frame. He was dressed in pajama pants and an old t-shirt, and he seemed out of breath.

"Derek," she whispered, relieved at the sight of a talking, breathing Derek in front of her.

"You OK? I heard screaming."

"Oh, God," Casey groaned, mortified at the thought that he heard too much. "Just a bad dream. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, OK," he said. "Just don't let it happen again. Some of us actually enjoy sleeping around here."

Casey rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at him. "Whatever. Sorry to disturb your beauty sleep."

He turned to go, and her breathing was returning to normal, when he suddenly said, "I wouldn't hurt you, Case."

She froze and didn't say anything. "I mean, I'll probably mess with you every single day, but not...you know."

"I know." And she did.

They never talked about nightmares again.


	5. 45 Keeping Secrets

**#45 – Keeping Secrets**

Lizzie waited three days before she went to see Casey, who was confined to her room. She hesitated before knocking on the closed door.

"Mom, I think we've argued enough for one day, don't you?" came the bitter voice on the other side.

Lizzie quietly slipped in, and Casey's eyes turned softer. "I think you two have argued enough for one lifetime," she said, sitting next to Casey, who was sprawled out on her bed.

"Sorry, Liz," Casey said, her voice apologetic. "I thought you were--"

"I know," Lizzie said. She looked at her hands.

"Liz, I'm sorry," Casey finally blurted out. "I know this must be weird for you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lizzie asked, looking up at Casey. "I'm your sister and you _know_ I wouldn't tell anyone. I'm better at keeping secrets than anyone else in this family."

"Liz, it's not that," Casey said, shaking her head and sitting up. "I know that. I trust you. It's just...Derek and I wanted to keep it between us, because it only involved us. And...I didn't want you to think I was a freak."

"Casey," Lizzie said in an exasperated way. "You have some freaky tendencies, but you're not a freak. Dating your stepbrother's not going to put you over the edge."

Casey paused. "I'm sorry."

"Just talk to me next time," Lizzie said, getting up to leave. "Mom and George aren't even close to calming down yet. Casey...is he really worth it?"

"Yeah," she said as a small, genuine grin grew on her face.

"Well then, yeah, I think it's weird." Casey looked at Lizzie, a hurt look on her face. Lizzie grinned. "Stepbrother or not, he's still _Derek_."

"I know, right?" Casey said, grinning back at her. "I _must_ be a freak."

"I heard that!" came the voice from next door. Casey and Lizzie looked at each other and giggled.


	6. 10 Light and Dark

**#10 – Light and Dark**

Casey was (slightly) afraid of the dark.

The second Derek found out (she had accidentally let it slip to Emily, not knowing he was right behind them), this expression came over her face like she had honest-to-God just lost her puppy. "Dammit," he heard her whisper as his laughter carried down the halls of their high school. "He's never going to let me off the hook for this."

"Damn straight," he said, leaving them at Emily's locker, still laughing.

It was almost too easy. He clipped out ads for sales on nightlights and left them under her door. He would sneak up on her as she watched movies in their living room with Max (side note: he's an idiot) and turned the lights out, just to hear her scream before fumbling for the switch. And, on one otherwise boring day, he found out how to turn off the electricity in her room, and...well, whatever.

Finally (because Casey always had a breaking point), she shoved him over his bed one day. "You _idiot_!" she screamed, throwing one of Marti's books about monsters that come in the night at him. He had left it on her pillow – apparently it didn't go over so well. The book hit his arm (kind of hard, but he'll never admit it), and he said, "Drama queen strikes again?"

"Do you even know why I hate the dark?" Something in her voice told him the joke was officially over and he'd better shut up and listen. "For nearly every night when I was a kid, I had to lie up in bed, in the dark, listening to my parents scream at each other. And I wanted to turn on the light, but I was terrified that if they heard me, then they'd yell at me like that. And so I hate the dark. So stop making it into a big joke, Derek, because--"

"OK, OK, OK!" Derek said, his arms flailing to keep her quiet. "I'm sorry!"

She looked struck at being the recipient of one of his rare apologies, and he was pretty surprised he'd said it, too, but the point was, she calmed down and left. And he'd never felt so guilty in his life.


	7. 6 First Love

**#6 – First Love**

"Edwin's in love with Michelle!" Marti sang at the dinner table one night.

"I am not!" he denied, but his ears were red and he was grinning.

"You _so_ are," Lizzie said.

"So, Nora, who was your first love?" Edwin asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Billy Borshower," Nora said, sighing dreamily. "In the fifth grade, he gave me flowers for my birthday. I was in love with him for three years."

"I could get you flowers," George said defensively.

"Oh, Georgie, relax. Billy's gay. Who was your first love?"

"Abby," George said simply. "We were high school sweethearts, got married--"

"Got divorced, got remarried," Derek finished.

"Raised a few smart alacks along the way," George added.

"Who's Alex?" Marti asked.

"Lizzie, can you pass the--"

"My first love was Max," Casey said wistfully.

"Oh, please," Derek snorted. Casey shot him a look, but before a fight could begin, Nora quickly asked, "What about you, Lizzie? Any first loves yet?"

"If you only saw the boys I went to school with," Lizzie said disdainfully. As if on cue, Edwin let out a huge burp.

"What about you, Venturi?" Casey asked Derek, her voice challenging. "Who was your first love? There's a dictionary over there if you don't know what it means."

"Hockey," he said immediately. "First and last love. Only love a man needs." He caught Casey's eye across the table and couldn't read her expression.

"I'm going to marry Dimi tomorrow!" Marti announced, and Casey looked away, and just like that, it turned in to just another dinner conversation.


	8. 42 Follow My Lead

**#42 – Follow My Lead**

"Derek," Casey said, gasping for breath. They had been making out on Casey's bed, and at the interruption, Derek groaned.

"What, Case?" he asked, his voice annoyed. He recognized the 'Let's stop kissing and talk about something' tone of her voice.

Casey bit her bottom lip. "We have to tell them."

He sighed and sat up, knowing this was going to be a Long Conversation. "Tell who what?" he tried.

"De-rek," Casey said sternly. "This has been going on for three months. We need to tell Mom and George about us."

"What's wrong with the way things are now?"

"'What's wrong'?" Casey repeated, sitting up straighter. "Well, for one thing, we have to sneak around everywhere. We can't even smile at each other in public because everyone would just _know_. And even the lord of the lies has to feel a little guilty about lying to his dad for so long. Are those enough reasons for you?" Derek sighed, and Casey could tell he wasn't buying it. "Come on, Derek. This is great, but it could be so much better if we just told them."

"And then have me shipped off? Seriously, Case. They were willing to send me to Spain over a failed class." She looked at him with sad puppy dog eyes, and after a pause, he mumbled, "But yeah, I guess you're right."

Her face lit up, and it was a testament to how happy she was that he agreed that she didn't even make him repeat the 'You're right' line. "OK, we need to break it to them in the least painful way possible," she said, grabbing paper and flash cards. "I'll work up a nice introduction and the slow, easing them into it part. You make up a list of questions that they'll most likely ask. Color-code them by--"

"Case!" Derek said, grabbing her arms and leading her away from the colored markers. "Come on. Let's just tell them now."

Casey looked scared as he led her out of her room and downstairs. "But, what are we going to say? We can't just go into this unprepared!"

He kissed her forehead. "Just follow my lead."


	9. 24 Save Me

**#24 – Save Me**

"Oh, come _on_, Casey, do you honestly think I'd be asking you for help if I didn't desperately need it?"

"Derek, there is _no way_ I'm helping you out of this one. I won't be held responsible for Derek Venturi leaving yet another hopeful girl crying in the bathroom."

"That was twice, Casey. Seriously, when are you getting here?"

"Oh, what, because I'm a loser who has nothing better to do than to sit around waiting for someone to call?"

"A loser with a license, don't forget about that."

"What's in it for me?"

"Other than the immense satisfaction from helping your stepbrother?"

"There'd _better_ be something other than that."

"Fine. Sole car privileges, one week."

"Three weeks."

"_Fine_, just _get over here_ already!"

"And you lay off Max."

"...For a day."

"For_ever_, Derek."

"It's not my fault the guy pretty much asks to be tortured by me."

"And the hockey team?"

"Yeah, are you in the car yet? Because blondie here is coming my way again and I don't know how long I can hold her off."

"You are impossible, Venturi."

"I don't hear keys turning in the ignition."

"_Aaargh_!"


	10. 30 Boys and Girls

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek. Sorry.

Author's Note: For the 50ficlets community over at LJ.

**#30 – Boys and Girls**

Derek heard Casey's agitated scream before she came crashing through the front door. He was sitting in his recliner and rolled his eyes as she proceeded to take off all six million of her winter-wear accessories while she ranted, "Do you know what the difference between boys and girls is?!"

Derek grinned. Sometimes she just asked for it. "Well, Case, for those of us who paid attention in anatomy class, girls have these lovely body parts called --"

"Derek?" she asked, cutting him off and looking at him with a confused expression on her face. "Where's Mom?"

"Nora's out grocery shopping with Lizzie and Edwin, and George is taking Marti to tap-dance class."

Casey sighed. "So I'm stuck with you?"

"Oh, trust me, Case, I don't want to hear about your problems any more than you want me here."

She flopped down on the couch, sat silently for a minute, then said, "Well, I have to tell _someone_."

"Here's a phone," he said, throwing it on her lap.

She ignored it. "What I was saying before, is that boys don't know about what they're feeling as well as girls do."

"I feel that I don't want to hear this."

"For example, when a girl tells her on-again, off-again boyfriend of six months that she loves him, and he stands there in complete silence, it can only prove that he doesn't know how to vocalize his feelings before he doesn't even really _know_ what he's feeling. Which is that he loves me – or her – , too."

Derek looked at her for a second. "Uh-huh," he said. He squinted. "Can I ask you something without you taking it in the wrongest, most dramatic way possible?"

Casey stared at him. "Of course."

"Maybe, _just maybe_, Max doesn't love you."

Casey shook her head. "Derek, that's stupid."

"No, it's a possibility."

"What, because it's impossible for a guy, any guy, to love me?!"

Derek waved his hands in front of her face. "No, see? That's taking it in the wrong way."

"Because even though Max is cute, and nice, and popular, doesn't mean he can't love me!"

"Casey!" Derek said, frustrated. "God, that's not what I meant! I _meant_ that there are plenty of guys out there who love you, and so it doesn't really _matter_ if Max doesn't. And yes, I said 'if'."

"But I love him," she said sadly.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Then I can't help you."

Casey paused. "You really think there are lots of guys out there who love me?"

Derek's eyes suddenly became focused on the screen. "Anything's possible."

"Like who?"

"Like people _out there_. Now go find them and let me watch hockey in peace."


	11. 27 Fast Forward

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek. Sorry.

Author's Note: For the 50ficlets community over at LJ.

**#27 – Fast Forward**

"'Where I'm Going To Be In Ten Years'," Derek read on Casey's laptop over her shoulder.

"Derek!" she said, turning around and shoving the unpleasant interruption.

"Your paper's blank," he noted. "So, what, you're not planning on living that long?"

"If you want to live until next year, you'd better stop sneaking up on me."

"No, wait, I can do this," Derek said. He fell comfortably on her bed, earning him a disdainful look. "Casey McDonald will be married, of course, to an incredibly wealthy, good-looking freak, since that's the type you seem to go for. You'll have pumped out a few kids, and you'll already have their names signed up at the most prestigious private schools in the area. You've got the impeccably neat mansion with a white picket fence, and you're the youngest person to go so far in your career. And – oh, yeah. You'll still be making _my_ life hell."

"Oh, come on, Derek," she said, turning back to her computer. "That's ridiculous."

"A white picket fence with a mansion is a little tacky."

"No, you don't really think we'll be talking in ten years, do you?"

Derek was immediately grateful that she was looking at her computer so she couldn't see the look of hurt on his face, but when he couldn't come up with a scathing reply, she continued, "I mean, we'll see each other on holidays, but we're not going to be living together anymore. What are you expecting, for us to call each other every night just to see how our days went?"

He flinched at the uncharacteristically harsh statement. "Well, there you go," he said, unable to keep the bite out of his voice. "There's an essay right there. Talk about how glad you're going to be to get rid of your evil brother Derek."

"Step," she said automatically, turning to look at him with a confused expression on her face. "Derek, I --"

"Better get writing, Casey," he said, and stormed out of her room.

Later that night, as he was mindlessly playing 'Babe Raider' downstairs, he heard the staircase creaking. Casey carefully sat next to him, clad in her pajamas.

"It's two in the morning," he said as a greeting.

"Couldn't sleep," she said. She hesitated. "Can I play?"

He paused, then smirked. "Only if you _want_ me to beat you."

He turned to look at her just as a relieved smile grew on her face, and it struck him how much he wanted her to be there in ten years. In fifty years. Whenever.


	12. 41 Time and Tide

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.

Author's Note: For my claim at the LJ community, 50ficlets.

**#41 – Time and Tide **

Casey never dreams.

So when she wakes up at 4:32 AM, out of breath, nervously glancing around to make sure that, no, Derek was definitely _not_ in the room, she can't shake it right away. Then again, having dreams where she made out with Derek probably wouldn't have been shaken off easily under any circumstances.

The thing was, it kept happening, time and time again.

It would have been awkward, if it weren't for the fact that every time she was reminded of the increasingly more and more graphic dreams during the day, he managed to infuriate her to the point of forgetting within approximately six seconds.

After she broke up with Noel, the dreams came almost every night. The dreams had little substance except one, where she and Derek were curled up together, fully clothed, on a beach, watching the waves flow in and out. They were alone and it was quiet except for the occasional gull. Derek brought his face down to hers and murmured in her hair, "I love you."

And that was the one she remembered. Not the vivid, exciting ones that would make for a good porno. But the one where time stopped and she felt like it could go on forever. She never wrote about it in her journal (the thought of _anyone_ reading that made her face burn), but sometimes, when she was stressed out and needed someone, anyone, she closed her eyes and remembered.


	13. 50 Give and Take

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.

Author's Note: For my claim at the LJ community, 50ficlets.

**#50 – Give and Take **

"C'mon, Case, let's go," Derek said, standing in her door frame and tapping his fingers impatiently on the wall.

Casey looked up from her book. "Go...where?" she asked, frowning in confusion.

Derek rolled his eyes. "_Sam's_, Casey. The pre-playoff picnic?"

Casey shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm not going to that testosterone-drenched eat-a-thon."

"Come _on_, Casey," he wheedled, giving her his best pitiful eyes. "All the other player's girlfriends are going to be there."

Casey looked around nervously. "Keep your voice down!" she whispered frantically.

"Relax, no one's around. And Sam knows about us, so we're cool."

"And what about the rest of your hockey...peers?"

Derek wondered if he was ever going to get physically damaged from rolling his eyes so much around her. "My _team_? When there's food involved, they won't even see you." She still looked doubtful. "_Fine_, bring Emily with to be less suspicious. I really want you there." His voice went serious at the end, and he looked down at his shoes.

Her face softened. "You know, if we just told everyone..."

"Case, we --"

"I know we can't. I'm just saying, it would be easier." She paused. "OK, but you owe me two library study dates."

"Under forty-five minutes each," he bargained.

"Length of stay is at my discretion," she said. "Besides, there's no point in going to the library if you're only going to stay forty-five minutes."

He groaned. "Deal. But I'm making this worth it."

She went back to her book, a content grin on her face. He looked up and down the hallway, saw no one, and entered her room to give her a full-on kiss on the mouth. She let herself give in for a moment, then pulled away. "Door!" she gestured. He moved quickly to shut it.

"So," she said coyly, putting down her book. "You still want to leave right now?" The grin on his face grew as he leaned in.


	14. 9 Touch Me

Disclaimer: I don't own Life With Derek.

Author's Note: For my claim at the LJ community, 50ficlets.

**#9 – Touch Me**

Derek absolutely, flat-out refuses to hug Casey.

(All right, there was that one time, on Christmas, and he was convinced she'd had too much eggnog, because she came tumbling towards him with arms wide open and eyes bright with Christmas cheer. George and Nora were right there, anyway, and he figured a national holiday wouldn't have stopped them from beheading him, so he gave in. Plus, he isn't heartless.)

It's not like he absolutely, flat-out refuses to touch her or anything. Not a day goes by when he doesn't check her in the shoulder, or brush her hand when stealing the remote, or wrestle with her over said remote.

He never really realized why hugging was so off-limits, besides the fact that, gross, it's _Casey_. It isn't like he wasn't affectionate around Marti, Ed, or Lizzie.

It's fall when he realizes. The leaves crunch in the grass as he walks through the front lawn, just getting back from hockey practice. He hears Casey's voice yell "Derek!" before he even reaches the front stoop. She runs outside to meet him.

He stops and takes a deep breath. He knows what's coming. Predictably enough:

"It was _you_, wasn't it?" she says accusingly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." And there it is, the check in the shoulder as he tries to get past her. She doesn't let him.

"You filled Max's locker with...with..."

He breaks, his face smirks. "Condoms?" He can barely keep from laughing.

"And the sign!" she says indignantly. "'Wouldn't want you to reproduce'? Derek, stop laughing!"

"Oh, man, did you see the look on his face?!" Derek guffaws. His laughter dies down a little when he sees that she doesn't find it quite as amusing.

"Why would you even go through the trouble? Max and I broke up weeks ago."

His face turns (slightly) more serious. "Come on, Case. He was drunk at that party and he started spreading rumors about you. It wasn't..." He trails off and finds that he would rather look anywhere than in her eyes right then.

Her face turns softer, her anger fades. "Der..."

"Plus, it's just hilarious to see that guy annoyed," Derek adds quickly before she gets any ideas in her head about _chivalry_ or whatever she goes on about. And maybe if he had looked at her, he would've seen that _look_ in her eyes, and he could've ducked out of the way before her arms go around him and pull him into a hug.

He pulls away almost immediately, but she seems satisfied and skips back into the house, smiling.

The hug wasn't long, but he still remembers the smell of her hair, and the feel of her arms pressed into his back, and the fact that she fit so perfectly against him. And even more, when he plays that scene over and over again in his head that night, he closes his eyes and pretends for a second that they aren't step-siblings at all, and she's just another girl, and he can hold her as much as he wants without the fear of her letting go.

He sighs. Definitely no more hugs.


End file.
